China kidnapped two Canadians. What will it take to free them? “The Michaels’ fates have taken on added resonance with a difficult decision facing the federal government: should Huawei, a global telecom giant with strong ties to the Chinese state, be allowed to build part of Canada’s emerging 5G network? On top of being labelled a national security threat by Western spy chiefs, the company has been under investigation in the U.S. for years, accused of breaking sanctions against Iran—and it was recently charged in the U.S. with racketeering and conspiring to steal trade secrets. Would a decision to give Huawei the green light—or a decision to bar it from being involved—have any bearing on the Michaels’ freedom? Pundits and insiders have debated those questions for months as diplomats work behind closed doors.” Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Jason Markusoff – Maclean’s – March 2020
Why Aren’t We Free to Age on Our Own Terms? “Being deemed incapable means that a person’s life decisions—what they spend their money on, what health care they receive, where they call home—may be delegated to a trusted party. In some cases, that proxy is a family member; in others, it is the provincial public-guardian system, whose staff may meet with the person rarely, if ever. The system is designed to protect against elder abuse and errors in judgment; it is an attempt to safeguard some of society’s most vulnerable, but it risks doing so at the cost of their liberties.” Sharon J. Riley – The Walrus – March 2020
In search of promised lands “Abel Bosum, Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees, plants his dress shoes where his parents’ house once sat on a thin wooded spit that curls into Doré Lake like a dog’s tongue into a bowl of water. A late September breeze rushes through the birch trees. Bosum’s mind turns to the past. This was the site of the final village from which his people, the Oujé-Bougoumou Cree Nation, were uprooted by a mining company — this one a gold pit owned by a fellow named Campbell — in the unrelenting pursuit of monetizable minerals from the Canadian Shield.” Julian Brave NoiseCat – Canadian Geographic – March 2020
It all adds up “It is hard to credit, but a tone of eager, unmistakable hostility attends much of the commentary surrounding Saul Bellow’s relationship to Canada. ‘His writings have absolutely nothing to do with this country or its citizens or its culture or its psyche,’ wrote Thomas Hodd in a Globe and Mail article, written on the heels of Eleanor Catton’s Booker Prize win, whose very title (“Stop Calling Foreign Writers ‘Canadian'”) seems indelibly fringed with ire. Though the substance of Hodd’s comment is demonstrably false—before abandoning graduate work in anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, Bellow began a thesis on French-Canadian acculturation—it’s the thrust of Hodd’s animus, that glimmer of jovial myopia, that grates.” Rod Moody-Corbett – Canadian Notes & Queries – February 2020
Curio “From the street, the storefront of the Monkey’s Paw looks like it belongs in a faded photograph. Twin display windows are set up like living rooms from another decade, complete with oriental rugs and antique furniture. So low as to be easily missed, a Carol Beach York novel has been carefully placed in one corner; as if guarding the entrance, a sculpture of a monkey hoists the small volume over its head. ‘Beware of this Shop,’ the book’s title reads.” Jadine Ngan – Maisonneuve – February 2020
Regular game, historic broadcast “It’s gameday in Calgary and with puck drop still a few hours away, 29 women gather at centre ice. A freshly-cleaned sheet glistens beneath heels and work boots and sneakers. The soft sounds of careful shuffling and chatter and laughter carry through the empty Scotiabank Saddledome stands that will soon house fans.” Emily Sadler – Sportsnet – March 2020
Anatomy of an Epidemic “To be alive is to be afraid; anxiety is the spirit of this age and, substantially, of all ages. However good things have gotten, at least for those of us in Canada—however low crime and unemployment rates have become, however much war deaths have declined, life expectancy has grown, or HIV, cancer, and age-adjusted heart disease death rates have shrunk—disquiet claws at us. Financiers may advise that what they call the downside risk—the potential for loss in the worst cases—is limited, but at an existential level, we know better. Everything could just go all to hell, no matter how shiny things look. You don’t need to be a wigged-out prepper in the woods to suspect it.” Kevin Patterson – The Walrus – March 2020
